Does anyone know how to finish the ends of shoe laces that have been cut short? You know how quite often laces are often too long and especially with cycling shoes, the laces can end up rubbing the chain/set, even getting caught.

So is there a good neat way of finishing cut shoe laces, that is neater than rolling them in super glue or melting the ends? Is there a widget that can do the job properly? If there isn't, the person that can invent one could be a very rich person.

They'l be most likely nylon or something similar,so try melting the ends with match or lighter.I've done this on numerous laces over the years and it works a treat.

Pedal up,pedal down,pedal round,Ridin'...........------------------------The bicycle is one of the best objects in our lives, whose form has been honed to perfection over time by trials and trails, which is beautiful in its utilitarian form....

If they're made of a synthetic material (as they probably are), the easiest way to seal the end is the method used for climbing ropes - apply a match or lighter to the end surface until it melts. It should then cool to a hard blob of plastic.

The technical term for the tubes of plastic/metal that laces end in are called 'aiglets'. Finding replacements or new stock is very difficult. You could try Twistlink in Nuneaton (website under construction) but I am sure they are trade only. Laces with CTC logotype woven into them anyone? My favourites are burning and shaping when hot or heatshrink but the latter is not really stiff enough for relacing (you don't polish your black leather touring shoes once a fortnight? Shame!). Crimping brass/aluminium tube with a pair of side cutters is best but I rarely find this material except as scrap/salvage. You are right, though. Selling simple shoelace kits with unaigletted ends for use with a pair of pliers would certainly attract me as I do go through a lot of laces. The aftermarket is very poorly served these days. God, why am I writing all this? I must be mad.

CREPELLO wrote:Does anyone know how to finish the ends of shoe laces that have been cut short? You know how quite often laces are often too long and especially with cycling shoes, the laces can end up rubbing the chain/set, even getting caught.

So is there a good neat way of finishing cut shoe laces, that is neater than rolling them in super glue or melting the ends? Is there a widget that can do the job properly? If there isn't, the person that can invent one could be a very rich person.

Almost the most important piece of information I have found since discovering that the nobbly coated liquorice allsorts are called "Spogs"![/quote]

I'm ashamed to admit that I found a website on the subject of laces where I found this nugget of information and subsequently saw it arise as a recent question in the current series of 'Mastermind'. But then you see I have always been attracted by stunningly useless but utterly precise bits of information

I don't think those chaps use them on cycling shoes although I imagine the piece contains some urban myths. Anyway, aiguillette is the diminutive of the French aiguille - a needle.

(And around here, spogs is a general term for sweets, although a quick google seems to support the liqorice allsorts nomenclature.) =================================================Edited to add: Oh the joys of the internet. You can find anything if you google the right word. Aiguillettes has been corrupted to aglets in English, and somebody here knows all about them except a good source for buying them.